Their Chosen Family
by Mina37
Summary: Hohenheim watches his sons greet their family and realizes that he has no room in the picture. Parental!RoyEdAl. Oneshot.


**Just a little idea that came into my mind while I was reading the last chapter of the manga. I love the idea of Roy being a father-figure for Ed and Al, Ed especially.  
**

 **By the way, English isn't my native language. If you notice any mistakes, or something just sounds really weird, please let me know!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist.**

Hohenheim watched with a smile on his face, as people flocked around his sons. Ed kept a tight eye on Al, ushering people away from his little brother if he saw even the slightest sign of discomfort. He found it endearing, but of course, it was only natural. For a while, they had all thought Al was dead. For while, _Ed_ had believed Al was forever lost. For so long, the younger brother had lived as nothing more than an armor, and none of them could quite believe he was actually there. Even Ed had his troubles. That's why, they all kept a tight eye on him, to make sure he didn't just disappear.

He watched, feeling proud of his sons. They had come all this way, all on their own. They had had support all along the way, of course, but ultimately, they had come this far with their own feet, their own strength. It was his son, who had given the last hit to Father, the one who had defeated the evil controlling this country. It was his son who sacrificed his ability to do alchemy to bring back his little brother, the same one he had bullied as a little boy. It was his son, who had selflessly sacrificed his own soul for his big brother's arm, so that he could fight and win. It was his sons, who had found out about the evil of this country and had planned to take it down. And they had succeeded. How could anyone _not_ be proud of them?

He watched, happy for them. Alphonse had his body back. Edward lost his alchemy, but he looked happier than ever before. He didn't look this happy even as a child. To Hohenheim, that was most important. His sons were happy, and that meant he was happy. Undeniably, a big part of that happiness inside of him came from the memory of Ed calling him his father. It had been so long, since he had heard his oldest son call him that, and the memory made him so incredibly happy. His youngest son had never called him anything but that, but hearing Edward say it… It had been rewarding. It made him realize that he had done _something_ right, perhaps.

He could never do anything to apologize for leaving the boys and Trisha. Nothing he did could ever heal the pain the two, no, the _three_ of them went through after he walked out the door. He knew that, but he hoped that now, his sons could forgive him, if even just a little. He wouldn't mind them hating him, he would hate himself if he was in their position, but now… He believed, that they had gotten somewhere. That he had done something right. That Ed and Al had both forgiven him, at least on some level.

Memories of his time with Trisha flashed in his mind as he stared, his youngest son being hugged by the Xingese princess. He seemed embarrassed, even if happy. Ed was grinning and laughing, joking with one of the soldiers beside him. Izumi and his husband, Sig, sat close by, observing the two like they were their sons. In a way, they were. For a while, the boys had lived with them, had been their sons. Hohenheim found himself glad, that she had looked after them, had taken them in. Without her and her teachings… he knew, he probably wouldn't have either son.

It was noisy around them. Soldiers, both unknown and familiar to them, came to congratulate them, to thank them for fighting with them. It was a busy corner, where people were constantly talking, reminding everyone that while lives were lost in this battle, they were also regained. Hohenheim noticed, that while everyone didn't visit, they were giving them warm looks, smiling, glad for the two brothers who had been through _so much_ in their short lives. No one cared that they were being loud, because despite everything that had happened, it was a good day for them.

Then, suddenly, as though struck by lightning, both boys went silent. Hohenheim and everyone else in the area blinked, confused. They watched as the two boys stared at something in front of them. They stared, and their eyes widened, looking horrified and scared, but relieved and excited at the same time.

And before anyone could say anything, Ed broke into a run, despite being exhausted beyond belief. He ran, grinning like Hohenheim had never seen before. He had not seen such a grin when the boy was young, not when Al woke up just earlier, never before. His eyes mirrored the wide, happy grin, as he ran towards something, or rather, someone.

Hohenheim watched, wide-eyed, as his oldest son ran to a military man who was being supported by a blonde woman. He recognized the man. He was the same man who had been underground with them, the one who had been forced to do the Human Transmutation. The one who had lost his sight in the process. He did not know who the woman was, but they seemed very close. It was obvious that she knew Edward, too, because her eyes were so incredibly gentle as he came closer, looking at him almost like a mother would. She smiled, mumbling something to the black-haired man, who perked up. It was just in time, too, because the next second, Edward engulfed him into a hug.

Hohenheim stared as his oldest son hugged Colonel Roy Mustang, who wrapped his own arms around the teenager, like it was normal to him. His hand moved to touch Ed's newly regained arm, and he grinned, ruffling the boy's hair while saying something that Hohenheim couldn't hear. The ancient man was sure his son would get angry, regardless, because that was how Edward was. He didn't want to be treated like a child, and there was no doubt that the Colonel ruffling his hair would be taken as such.

Edward surprised him and many others, though. Instead of getting enraged, his grin widened and brightened. He easily maneuvered himself to support the blind man and dragged him with him. The woman quickly followed them as they got closer to Al, who was grinning just as brightly as Ed was. The Xingese princess had moved out of the way, looking around in confusion, and it seemed like only Izumi and Sig knew what was going on, judging from the smiles on their faces.

Reaching his brother's side, Ed helped Roy onto his knees. Al nearly jumped at the chance and hugged the man tightly, burying his face onto the man's shoulder. Roy tensed, at first, but then relaxed and, just as easily as before, wrapped his arms around the shaking boy, running his hand up and down the bony back. Al sobbed and Roy shushed him, drawing circles onto his back, like he had always done so. Like it was just another normal day for him. Ed sat beside them, completely at ease, a gentle expression on his face, and Hohenheim could hardly believe it. The older brother was notoriously protective of the younger one, after all, and he didn't doubt that anyone else in the same situation would have been hit. Hohenheim himself would have been hit. But Roy wasn't. Ed didn't look even bothered, in fact, he looked glad.

The woman stood behind them, smiling. She didn't step forward to join them, just watched them like everyone else did. The scene had made everyone else stop what they were doing, and they watched, curious of what was to come.

As he observed, Hohenheim heard Al utter a word that made him freeze. "Dad."

He turned back to look at what was happening. Yet, Al was still hugging the man tightly as Roy comforted him. Ed didn't look the least bit alarmed, if anything, his grin brightened a little as he looked at the scene and the soldier, in particular. His eyes shone with admiration and love, a mix that Hohenheim distantly recognized. Once upon a time, Edward used to look at him in that way.

When Roy unwrapped one of his arms from around Al and brought it to the side, inviting, Hohenheim wasn't as surprised as he maybe should have been, when Ed jumped into the hug as well. Both blonds hugged the blind soldier tightly, and the man held onto them just as tightly. They didn't care of the looks they were gathering, they just held each other and basked in the presence of one another.

"Dad", it was said without restraint, so easily, like it was something he said daily. Hohenheim could only watch as Ed laughed while held by the man who was his commanding officer. He could only watch as his sons called the man their dad, over and over again, as though they couldn't quite believe he was there at all. He listened as his sons easily called this man with a title that Ed had truly struggled to call him with. But they both were saying it now, like it was the most natural thing in the world for them.

Maybe it was.

Roy's grip on them tightened, not enough to hurt, but enough to pull them even closer to him. "My boys."

Hohenheim stared, saw how his sons visibly brightened up, how their grins widened, how their eyes filled with love one felt for their parent. He saw as his sons called the man with the title that should have been his, _was_ his once, in response to his words. He saw the bright grin that had spread on Roy's face, saw the fatherly love in his blind eyes as he pulled away enough for the boys to see his expression as he cupped one cheek of one brother in each hand. "I'm _so_ proud of you both. You know that."

Alphonse laughed, and Hohenheim had never heard him laugh so happily. "Of course we know that!"

Edward, too, laughed. There was probably no one there, who had heard him laugh so freely before. "You better be, Dad!"

Roy laughed with them and pulled them into a hug again. The brothers didn't mind, just happy to receive the man's undivided attention. All three looked so happy, like nothing in the world was going to stop this moment, like the world had just been set right. And while that was true, to them, it had been set right in a different way.

"We need to have your hair cut, Al", the soldier chuckled, running his hand through the long blond hair of the younger brother. All the while, he kept the embrace tight, the two boys close to him. He, just like everyone else, had trouble believing that this was all true. That Al was there, in his own body. But he held Ed in the same way, like he couldn't believe he was there. For some reason, Hohenheim thought it wasn't just because the man was blind, either. "I won't allow you to become a hooligan like Ed."

"Hey!" Ed exclaimed, indignant, but they were all still laughing.

Hohenheim looked at the family of three, and suddenly realized that while he may have been their biological father, Edward and Alphonse Elric were Roy Mustang's sons. He hadn't raised them… but he had stood by their side through everything, had given them advice when they didn't know what to do, had taken them in and cared for them when they were at their lowest. He hadn't raised them, but he had taken them in as his responsibility when no one else would.

He hadn't raised them, but he might as well have.

Hohenheim smiled, sad yet happy at the same time. Happy, because he knew, Ed and Al weren't alone in this world. Roy would always stand by them and take care of them. It was all he could hope for the two boys.

Turning away from the happy scene that caused a painful feeling inside his chest, he walked away.

 **I hope you enjoyed! Have a very nice day!**


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